Nut and bolt device



Dec. 28, 1943. P. E. FLOWERS 2,337,984

NUT AND BOLT DEVICE Original Filed April 29. 1940 REL 55.5 H

. m/vmmR PAUL [HOWE/P5 Patented Dec. 28, 1943 UNITED" STATES, PATENT OFFICE I The Hydraulic Development Corp., Inc., Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Original application April 29, 1940, Serial No. 332,178. Divided and this application May 3, 1941, Serial No. 392,110

3 Claim.s. (Cl. 85-1) This is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 332,178, filed April 29, 1940.

The present invention relates to hydraulic presses and more particularly to mechanism for guiding the platen during its excursions between the head and the bed of the press.

Hydraulic presses are usually provided with a heavy framework which carries the actuating unit of the press at the top, and mechanical power is transmitted from this unit to the platen. The platen'is guided in its In order. to provide a large bearing surface,

the working corner of each gib and the adjacent edge of the compression member are chamfered, usually at 45 degrees so that the diagonally cut surface of the gib is adapted to I slide over th abutting diagonal surface of the adjacent compression member.

The gibs are usually bolted to each side oi? the platen and therefore form a U shaped recess along two opposite edges of the platen which embrace the projecting U shaped portions of the compression members. I

The platen and the gibs secured thereto reciprocate continuously during the operation of the press and the wear between the working surface of each gib and the adjacent compression member is usually taken up by removing shims, from under each gib, depending on the amount of wear. However, it will be apparent that the adjustment obtained in this manner is crude since the adjustment is not obtained gradually and continuously, but rather abruptly as determined by the thickness of the shims. For example, if one shim were to be removed from under each gib the platen may still be too loose within its guideways, but if two shims were removed the platen would be too tight and would bind. -When the necessary amount of adjustment is in terms of a few thousandths of an inch rather-than the whole thickness; of a shim an adjustment obtained by removing shims is not altogether satisfactory.

The primary object of the present invention isto provide an improved structure by which anfaccur'ate adjustment of the gibs can be made with respect to the compression members of the press, and in particular to provide an improved structure by which the tightness with which the platen slides over the compression members can be adjusted without the use of shims. A still further object is to provide an improved means for adjustably spacing the gib and the press from the platen and for locking the gib in the adjusted position in order accurately to control and to maintain the control of the sliding fit with which the platen is guided along the compression members.

In the prior art it has been customary to bolt the gibs to the platen and to arrange these bolts in a single vertical line down through the middle of each gib in order to secure the {gib to the platen. In the event that the gib is fairly wide, it is apparent that a single line of bolts I as length of the gib so that proper adjustment may be obtained not only in a vertical direction over each'gib, .but also in a horizontal direction thereby providing the proper snugness of fit over the entire bearing surface between the gib and the adjacent compression member.

The aboveobjectives are carried out in brief by discarding the shims referred to hereinbefore and, instead, mploying a screw member for spacing the gib from the compression member and maintaining this spacing effect by employ- .ing a locking screw contained within the screw member. The arrangement is suchthat before any adjustment can be made, the locking screw must first be loosened and then the spacing adjustment made, after which the locking screw is tightened so as to make the adjustment permanent. By staggering the spacing and locking screws throughout the entire area of the gib, not only is it possible to obtain a uniform spacing throughout the opposed surfaces of the gib and the adjacent compression member, but also a non-uniform spacing, if desired, which provides increased adjustments of the gib with respect to the compression member.

Other objectives and features will be apparent as the specification is perused in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 represents an elevational view of a or more compression members 3 of angular cn-' figuration, and which usually surround and conceal a number of heavy strain rods. These rods pass up through the head and terminate in nuts 4. At the lower ends, the rods pass throughthex bed 2 and through the end portions of a bottom truss 5, finally terminating in nuts 6.

The head I carries any suitable form of hydraulic cylinder (not shown) Containing a piston which is actuated by a pump of any suitable and well-known character (not shown), for example,

a variable delivery rotary pump operated by an electric motor and in which the delivery is controlled by an ordinary shift ring (not shown). The plunger of the cylinder is designated I and the lower end thereof carries a platen 8. The platen is provided with a rabb. portion 9 at each of its vertical corners. The aten is adapted to slide upwardly and dowi'iwardly between the compression members 3 and, on its downward or working stroke contacts with a'die l0, which is secured to the bed of the press by means of bolts H.

- wrench 25. This wrench may be fabricated of against the lower fiat surface of the rabbeted portion 9. The head of the screw is provided with a hexagonal opening i8.

Directly under the last mentioned opening there is a threaded opening in the platen'which receives the shank is of a screw, the head 20 of which is of slightly smaller diameter than the distance between the opposite flat surfaces of the hexagonal opening Id. The head 20 of thesmaller screw I9 is also preferably ,provided with a countersunk opening 2i of hexagonal configuration. I

It will be noted from Figure 3 that the axes L of the screws l5 and I9 coincide, and the position of this axis with respect to the gib and the platen and the distance between the axis and the inner edge of theplaten are such as to leave a small space indicated at 22 between the gib and 'the' side of the rabbeted portion which is shown vertical in Figure 3. It will be further noted that the screw l5 has been tightened and therefore bears against that portion of the rabbeted surface 9 which is shown horizontal in Figure 3, leaving a space between the lower surface of the gib and the platen as indicated at 23.

The manner in which the spacing 23 is accurately controlled and -maintained will be clear from a consideration of Figure 4. The hexagonal opening 2| of the bolt I9 is adapted to receive the hexagonal end portion indicated at 24 of the hexagonal stock having the proper size snugly to fit the opening 2! and bent as indicated at 26 to form a handle. A special wrench 21, also formed of a piece of hexagonal stock, is adapted to be received by the hexagonal opening l8 of the screw During operation, a sheet of metal is placed on the die member l0 and subjected to pressure by the platen 8 which either forms or'cuts the metal to any desired shape. depending on the configuration of the lower surface of the platen. The downward and upward excursions are controlled by the shift ring of the pump either automatically or by an operator. In order accurately to control the points of contact between the lower surface of the platen and the metal workpiece positioned on the die 10, it is necessary to control the manner in which the platen approaches the workpiece. For this reason the platen is guided during its working and also during its upward stroke by the compression members.

The inner corner of the outside surface and compression members are beveled or chamfered at approximately as indicated by the reference character l2 (Figure 3). A gib I3 is also bolted to the platen 8. These gibs extend along each vertical edge of the platen and are positioned in the rabbet groove as shown in Figure 3. The gibs are usually' made of case-hardened steel and of rectangular configuration, with a length greater than the width so as to extend the entire length of the platen. The edge of each gib adjacent the beveled edge of the compression member is chamfered or beveled to an angle complementary of the angle of the compression member. As the compression member is beveled at 45 the gib has a similar bevel.

The bolts by which the gib is secured to the platen member are shown more clearly in Figures 3 and 4. Each gib is provided with a large countersunk opening i3a which terminates in a threaded portion of smaller diameter, indicated at M. This opening receives a large screw memher l5 having a roundhead, a shoulder 16, and

terminates in a threaded portion I! which rests 15. The wrench 21 has a round opening which is sufiiciently large to permit the wrench 25' to be inserted and rotated therein. A handle 28 is secured to the wrench 21 as indicated in Figure 4.

In making the proper adjustment of the gib with respect of the platen, the lock screw I9 is first unloosened by turning the wrench 25 coun ter-clockwise (Figure 4), after which the wrench 21 is turned in such a direction as to give the required spacing 23 between the gib and the platen. This is usually determined by the amount of friction exercised at the beveled surface l2, and indicated by the load on the pump. When the proper spacing has been obtained to provide the required snugness of the sliding fit between the I gib and the platen the wrench 25 is turned clockwise to lock the screw l9 rigidly in' the adjusted position, which in turn locks screw l5.

An' analysis of the compressional forces exercised between screws [5 and 19 will show that until the lock screw [9 has been loosened so as to remove its head 20 from the shoulder, it is impossible to rotate the screw I5 in either direction. Consequently, assuming that the proper fit has been obtained at the beveled surface l2, or in other words, the proper amount of spacing 23, this adjustment is rigidly maintained by the screw 15 as long as the locking screw 19 is tight.

From the foregoing, it is evidentv that I have separated the operation of obtaining the proper fit at the bevel l2 into two functions,-namely, the adjustment function which is exercised solely by the screw I5 and the maintenance 'of. this adjustment by the locking screw l9. It is further apparent that the screws [5 and 19 may have different coarseness or fineness of thread to per-r form their individual function in the optimum degree.

,:While the. combined adjusting and locking;

screw structure may be arranged as units in a single vertical line extending down the middle of each gib I3, I prefer to stagger these structures over the entire width as well as the entire length of each gib. Due to the fact that the screw I serves as a spacing member and bears against the platen, any one of these screws can also constitute a fulcrum about which the gib can'be swung depending on the relative positions of the remaining screws 15. Consequently, the beveled edge of the gib is adapted to be swung outwardly and inwardly due to the fulcrum-effects of any line of bolts in order to introduce still further variations of adjustment and greater accuracy in the sliding fit between the gib and the compression member.

It will also be evident from Figure 4 that the spacing adjustment at 23 may be had simultane-- ously with the locking adjustment due to the manner in which the wrenches 25, 28 can be manipulated. There is no necessity for shims between the gib and the platen and, furthermore, the spacing 23 can be controlled as accurately as may be desired depending on the fineness of the threads l4 and the angular movement through which the wrench handle 28 is turned.

This fineness and gradualness of adjustment is so pronounced that the same pressure may be brought to bear throughout the entire beveled surfaces which contact, so that the guiding effect of the gib is exercised not only equally by all of the compression members, but also equally throughout each beveled surface of each compression member.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as come within the scope or the claims and the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a cylindrical member having a shouldered threaded configuration.

portion and an enlarged cylindrical head portion adapted to be received within a recess of a machine part and provided with a shouldered borev in said head adapted to receive a screw having a' head at one end which bears against the shoulder on the bore and is threaded on the shank portion, said shouldered bore having an hexagonal 3. An article of manufacture comprising a member having a head provided with juxtaposed inner and outer non-threaded portions, the outer portion of which is cylindrical and the inner portion of which is multi-sided 'for the reception of a wrench, said member having a hollow shank provided with reduced interior and exterior surfaces as compared to the inner and outer portions respectively of said head to thereby form interior and exterior shoulders, said exterior surface being threaded and said interior surface being unthreaded, the inner portion of said head and shank being adapted to receive a screw having a head at one end which bears against the interior shoulder of said member, and a threaded portion which extends beyond the threaded portion of said member.

' PAUL E. FLOWERS. 

